Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistor-based circuits into a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when complex semiconductor and communication technologies were being developed.
VLSI design is a big opportunity for Indian engineers looking at contributing to world-class Intellectual Property development. Students with a strong electronics background and an engineering degree either in Electronics, Computer Science, Electrical, IT, Instrumentation etc are eligible to make a career in VLSI. Students armed with either of these degrees, can then pursue a PG programme in VLSI Engineering or microelectronics or a diploma in VLSI Logic design, physical design or embedded systems design. If electronics students are good in programming with strong mathematical and analytical background, they will be well suited to join embedded system design.
Students with a similar background, but with an interest in design and verification can opt for VLSI design. They can either focus on logic design or verification (front-end) or physical design (back-end). VLSI designers are in huge demand to develop FPGA implementations, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and SoCs(System-on-chip) .